James Wood, comp. Dictionary of Quotations. 1899.
Guicciardini
Affairs that depend on many rarely succeed.
He who imitates what is evil always exceeds; he who imitates what is good always falls short.
L’imitazione del male supera sempre l’essempio; come per il contrario l’imitazione del bene è sempre inferiore—He who imitates what is bad always goes beyond his model, while he, on the contrary, who imitates what is good always comes short of it.
There is no evil but is mingled with good.